IT IS a stereotype, a cliche, that city types are yearning for the space for their kids and dogs to run free in clean air.
If I'm to count myself as one of those "city types", who moved here from Wellington nearly three years ago, then I'll concede that clean air and space, and ease of commuting are all desirable things. But it is interesting no one wants to take a step backwards in terms of the attractive and useful aspects of 21st century life.
In our story yesterday, Professor Roger Morris commented on what a great location Masterton District was to live in, but he noted that communications via the internet were poor - not useful for a man who relied on international communications to discuss his expert work on infectious disease prediction.
The MyMasterton publications, and the two-minute video, have promoted the collective calm and ease of rural living. I'm sure an Aucklander, facing diabolical commuting, impossible house prices and insane traffic snarl-ups just to get to a concert or a shopping mall, will be looking around for the idyllic lifestyle with no traffic lights. The magazines have timed themselves beautifully for that. Why become part of the Northland beltway of "rural" towns when you can sample real rural life in Masterton?
But in going "rural", people still want the mod-cons. In fact, they dream of the perfect situation - the non-existent commute (or working from home), views, huge garden, designer kitchen and ultra-fast broadband.